Payments will be $270 million to Paradise; $252 million to Butte County

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Water drops are made on the fire line burning around PG&E transmission towers Nov. 12, 2018, east of Pulga. The deadly Camp Fire was first reported burning a few miles west up Highway 70. (Karl Mondon — Bay Area News Group file)

SAN FRANCISCO — Fourteen Northern California local government bodies including the town of Paradise and Butte County have agreed to settlements adding up to $1 billion with Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. for damages from fires sparked by the utility’s equipment.

The proposal, negotiated with the help of a mediator, includes $270 million for the town of Paradise, $252 million for Butte County, and $47.5 million for Paradise Recreation and Parks District.

The court overseeing PG&E’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy will have to approve the settlements as part of a plan of reorganization the utility is expected to file with the bankruptcy court.

Retired Judge Jay Gandhi, acting as a mediator, drew up the proposal after presiding over several days of in-person talks in San Francisco with 14 public entities with various claims from the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 North Bay Fires and the 2018 Camp Fire.

The other public entities agreeing to payments include the Yuba County, which will get $12.5 million, and the Calaveras County Water District, which will get $3 million. Nine other counties and cities will collectively get $415 million and will have to allocate it themselves.

The settlement does not affect the claims of individuals or businesses.

“The town of Paradise will rebuild, and this is an important step towards our recovery,” said Paradise Mayor Jody Jones. “On behalf of the town, we hope to receive the money as soon as possible so we can put it towards rebuilding our infrastructure and providing those necessary services for community resiliency.”

It is expected the money will go into the town’s general fund because the town has lost most of its revenue and will not get most of it back in the foreseeable future.

Cal Fire concluded in May that PG&E’s high-voltage power line had sparked the Camp Fire. The fire killed at least 85 people, burned more than 150,000 acres, destroyed over 18,000 structures and caused around $16 billion in damages.

The town of Paradise was represented by Town Attorney Dwight Moore, plus outside counsel Scott Summy and John Fiske of Baron & Budd. Baron & Budd first filed a lawsuit on behalf of Paradise against PG&E in Butte County Superior Court on Jan. 24. The suit alleged that PG&E was aware of the wildfire risk associated with its high-voltage power lines and that the utility had planned to de-energize those lines as a precaution against starting a fire in high-wind conditions but canceled those plans. The town sought damages for the loss of infrastructure, land, property, trees, public and natural resources and other taxpayer damages.

In a separate decision late last month, the judge overseeing PG&E’s bankruptcy approved the company’s proposal to set up a $105 million housing fund for survivors of the 2017 and 2018 wildfires in California that were blamed on the utility’s equipment. Last week, the court also approved Cathy Yanni, a mediation specialist, to administer the fund.